1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automobile transport devices and vehicles, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a loading and unloading device for transporting vehicles with the use of a truck wherein up to three vehicles can be transported by a single truck.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with vehicles and trailers for transporting various types of vehicles ranging from single automobile carrying vehicles to multiple carrying vehicles usually associated with the transportation of new automobiles that utilize specially constructed trailers to hold up to ten vehicles.
For smaller trucks to transport automobiles for any distance, only two vehicles can usually be transported. One may be positioned on the bed of the truck and the other towed or trailered.
Some multi-unit devices have been developed so that more than one vehicle can be accommodated in a single storage area. See for example U.S. No. 4,749,317 disclosing a trailer for transporting and storing recreational vehicles. Note FIGS. 9-12 showing the placement of one vehicle on a movable upper rack that, when stored, permits one or more additional units to be placed beneath it.
Automobile transportation for more than nominal distances is an important business today, and it is most desirable that as many automobiles as possible be moved during a single delivery. It is to this particular need that the present invention is directed.
A loading, transporting and unloading device for vehicles such as automobiles in association preferably with a hydraulic roll back truck is provided by this invention. The device includes a receiving floor having pivotally secured front and rearward legs for movable and releasable attachment to the bed of the truck of a size suitable to accommodate at least one automobile on the floor in the transport condition. The floor is connected to a conventional roll back truck by the legs so it can rest upon the truck bed in the inactive condition and lie substantially parallel thereto. Forward supporting legs and rearward supporting legs are pivotally secured to the truck bed and the receiving floor, and suitable cylinder means engages the bed and forward legs to displace the floor upwardly and forwardly to the raised position. Power cylinders of the hydraulic type are quite suitable for use in this floor raising structure. The floor when raised moves upwardly and partially forwardly of the bed front end to a height sufficient to accommodate the placement of a vehicle on the ramp beneath the floor. An automobile to be carried by the floor is placed on the floor while it is in the lowered condition and the truck bed is in the inclined or roll back position. When the floor is moved upwardly and forwardly by the hydraulic cylinders, the weight of the car is placed substantially along the forward end of the truck near the front axle so that secure truck control is accomplished by the weight distribution. The configuration of the bed, floor, and support legs at all times during raising, transporting and lowering is a parallelogram. This configuration ensures substantially level positioning of the floor-carried vehicle at all times except when it is being loaded or unloaded.
From the foregoing summary, it can be seen that an objective of the present invention is to provide a loading, transporting and unloading device for motor vehicles that has all of the advantages of prior art devices and more and none of the disadvantages.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device of the type described that will maximize the number of automobiles transported by a single vehicle of moderate size.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a device of the type described that will more evenly distribute the weight of the carried load over the chassis of the truck.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a device of the type described that will enable the separate construction of the device remote from the carrying truck that can be thereafter installed, replaced or removed for repairs.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a device of the type described that is dramatically less expensive to produce than other multiple vehicle carrying trucks.
The summary and objectives focus on the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciate. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description and illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.
It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of this development. It is also to be understood that the abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by its claims, nor to limit its scope in any way.